Barclay Premier League: Big Match Manchester City vs Chelsea 2015

Big Match Manchester City vs Chelsea 2015

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is fit despite being substituted at West Brom because of a slight groin problem.

Full-back Gael Clichy may return following an ankle injury, but Fabian Delph and Fernando are both ruled out.

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois serves a one-match ban and will be replaced by summer signing Asmir Begovic.

Midfielder Oscar is doubtful after suffering a minor injury in training.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES

Guy Mowbray: "Last season's corresponding fixture came too soon to be a blockbuster, and this being even earlier feels something of a waste.

"On last weekend's displays, City are favourites. Their performance at West Brom was magnificent and Vincent Kompany's goal celebrations and post-match words outlined a point to prove to those who've written them out of title contention. Some will have already changed their minds!

"Overshadowed by 'medicgate', Chelsea were a level down from their best against Swansea. They'll have to be better to get the point Jose Mourinho would gladly take here. If they don't, he might need a doctor."

Twitter: @Guymowbray

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini: "I said the first day I arrived here I have my differences with him [Jose Mourinho] but... I always shake hands with him."

"We are not thinking about the title in the second game but we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title."

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: "We are speaking about 38 matches. It is an eternity, a marathon that started last week."

"I cannot say [this match] is not crucial, I cannot say it's not very, very, very important.

"They are title contenders so three points are important, but I cannot say that a win will mean anything significant."

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

I rarely tip Chelsea to lose a game under Jose Mourinho but I don't think things are quite right with them at the moment. This is definitely a good time for City to play them. Lawro v BBC 6 Music presenter Mark Radcliffe

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head :

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against Manchester City (W2, D2).
However, Chelsea have won just one of their previous seven games at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions (W1, D1, L5).

Manchester City

• Manuel Pellegrini's side have won their last seven Premier League home games, keeping clean sheets in six of those matches.
• The last time they failed to win a top-flight home game was on 7 February, when they drew 1-1 with Hull City.
•  City completed 693 passes against West Brom - 212 more than any other team in the opening round of Premier League fixtures.
• David Silva has provided 47 assists since making his Premier League debut in August 2010, more than any other player in that period.

Chelsea

• Chelsea have not lost any of their last 28 Premier League games in the month of August (W23, D5) since a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough in 2006.
• The last time they failed to win either of their opening two Premier League games was in 1998.
• The Blues have only kept one clean sheet in their last six league games.

Premier League predictions: Lawro v BBC 6 Music's Mark Radcliffe

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season.

Lawro's opponent for this weekend's Premier League fixtures is BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Mark Radcliffe.

Radcliffe, who also hosts The Folk Show on BBC Radio 2, is a season-ticket holder at Manchester City and is backing them to beat Chelsea on Sunday.


Radcliffe has been a City fan since he was a boy and watched them regularly since 1976 when he moved to Manchester.

"It is difficult to pick out one moment as the highlight of my time following City," he told BBC Sport. "It is tempting to pick the glory days and I suppose when Sergio Aguero scored that goal to win us the Premier League in 2012, I was there watching it and wondering 'has that actually just happened?'

"It seemed impossible. It was so surreal and the sort of thing that never happened to City.

"I suppose that is my greatest moment although I am always drawn back to Paul Dickov scoring at Wembley, with his famous 95th-minute equaliser in the play-off final in 1999, because I do think that was the key moment in the City story of recent times.

"Lose that, and we were staring into the abyss but we won and it felt like we were on the way back. So my head would say Aguero but my heart would go back to Dickov, on his knees at Wembley."

You can hear more of Mark's tales about following City on Football Focus at 12:15 BST on Saturday on BBC One and the BBC Sport website.

Our scoring system has changed this season and a correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is now worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Last weekend, Lawro got two correct results from 10 Premier League games, with no perfect scores.

His score of 20 points saw him draw with former England cricketer Graeme Swann who also picked two correct results.

The Premier League team top of the Predictor leaderboard after week one is Watford, with an average score of 57 points, while the 13-15 age-group has the highest average score of 55 points.

(http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football)

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